Area of application

• Regenerator and recuperative heated end-fired furnaces
• Cross-fired furnaces of all kind
• Unit-Melter and other recuperative heated glass melting furnaces
• Day tank
• Oxy-Melter
• Other glass melting furnaces all kind

Why optimisation-service?

Today the majority of glass factories work already with most up-to-date technology in all production areas!
As far as fuel and combustion-air is concerned, excellent measurement and regulating systems were installed for the firing.
The operation staff is highly qualified!

Therefore the optimisation-service could be restricted only to commissioning with new burner technology!

Emission-measurements before and after an optimisation

However, each technology is only as good as it has been adapted to the actual process.

Also the burner technology has been developed. The operators of the furnaces still have to be set up in the situation to use new technology optimally.

Until many customers consider the burner technology only as tool for firing their furnaces and not as an instrument for optimisation of cost and minimising harmful substances at highest possible melting capacity.

To take into account optimally all economic and relevant environmental aspects at the glass production in future, a better co-operation between operator and firing specialist is required.

Because of that the optimisation-service is “today” highly current and will future gain in meaning still further.

What is an optimal firing?

An optimal firing achieves the best glass quality at highest output, lowest energy cost and longest life of the glass melting furnace.

Experts also know about enormous variety of all factors, which are necessary to confirm the first basic principle. Firing is only one segment from all other frame conditions but nevertheless of considerable conse-quence. On this occasion compromise solutions of the practice which should be close to optimum are everyday conditions strived for.

transportable measurement-equipment for emission-measurements

Each “team-optimisation” by HWI, together with the operator, are causing necessary prerequisites, still closer than before, to approach at a theoretical optimum and to stay more permanent on this level. Only who works in the plant and is active in detail, knows a lot of influence factors and company conditions in field of labile combustion reactions which only acting in combination so extremely in a glass melting furnace.

It is known that high flame temperatures are influencing apart from desired high melting results also the life of the furnace refractory materials and rise of thermal NO not in the root of the flame only.

To find a balance for these both contra-rotating processes it is necessary to be found.

In addition furnace geometry’s, burner mouth design, mixed square, mixed impulse, fume re-circulation and much other not insignificant influences affect the combustion and therefore also heat transference to the glass.

The mutual influencing of single flames is a further factor in glass melting furnaces with several fuel lances.

The primary NOx-reduction is and remains besides energy optimisation one of the most urgent environmental protection measures of all users of fossil energies. It is also of importance for the climatic protection and therefore a sporadic optimisation of firing is going to be more important than ever!

What offers HWI-optimisation-service?

• expert competent advice
• co-operative agreement strategy
• most possible modern computer-controlled measurement technology
• exact actual-value-analysis as level of reference
• programmatic optimisation steps
• issue of measurement diagrams
• valuation of reached results for the purpose of end-optimisation
• professional teamwork with your experts
• know-how discussion for future firing strategies

measurement arrangement

square measurement of fuel lances

How it is already visible from above mentioned terms, HWI-firing-optimisation offers much more than it is usually derived from the term "optimisation-service".

As has been proved a multitude of present glass melting furnaces already are operated in an acceptable optimal field of firing.
But there is not one plant, which works permanently in an absolute optimum range. This state can further be improved or optimised steadily!
Even if achieved results – looked at short-term – are not very considerable, so these contribute to – looked at long-term – that the overall result is still being further improved referring to the whole furnace lifetime between production volume and investment.

A glass melting furnace whose firing works to the greatest possible extent and permanently at the optimum, has following advantageous aspects:

• lowest-possible energy consumption due to most favourable heat-transfer in the glass bath
• reduced danger of local overheating of the refractory material in the upper part of the furnace due to more optimal combustion reactions over the whole flame area, what results in an advantage for the furnace lifetime
• reduction of "carry over" as a result of optimal flame position over the area of the doghouse what extends clearly the function of regenerative chambers – without decongestion of blocked regenerator chambers
• more stabile exhaust temperatures with limited CO-upper values are raising the life of the respective regenerator material.

installation of Regulating Gas Lances

variation of throughput amount per gas lance

The same status will assign to primary environmental protection measures how already mentioned aspects at the same time.
Because of that following positive results turn out in this connection:

• Reduction and stabilisation of NOx-values both over longer periods of time and, also at times for change of fire at regenerative plants as well as. In this connection are fuel- and combustion air change conditions just as on the test bed like local used measurement and regulating systems for fuel, combustion air, etc.
• Reduction of CO2-expulsion as a result of saving fuel at general optimisation useful for climatic protection.

A further advantage for the operator is valuation in view of the respective status-quo of existing firing plant.

Short-term improvements are going to be possible by this knowledge as well like modernisation of plant technology in question till next furnace repair.

With that it is given enough scope to include these costs due to a more proper solution in the new planning.

HWI-experts have as a result of different optimisation practises with various furnace plants the Know-how to advise you optimally and therefore to check and to improve your plant with your experts.

exhaust removal with water-cooled removal probe

alternative: exhaust removal with ceramics pipe

HWI offers you and your professional colleagues due to its co-operative optimisation each possibility to discuss respective suggestions for improvement in the greatest detail. By that it is possible for your team to continue practised optimisation steps if necessary in long-term tests. Because of this further positive knowledge will be useable.